The University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team (3-1-1) looked to continue their hot start to the season Monday night, as they took on undefeated Marquette University (5-0-0) in an in-state rivalry matchup.
The Badgers entered the contest having won five of their last six matchups against the Golden Eagles with an overall series record of 11-7-5.
Wisconsin continued to ride the hot hand of UCLA transfer Nate Crockford at goalkeeper, who had only conceded two goals all season prior to this battle. Opposite him was Marquette sophomore Ludvig Målberg, a key reason why Marquette remains perfect so far this season.
The Golden Eagles jumped on the Badgers early, as just one minute in, forward Ryan Amond collected the ball off a throw-in, then sliced through the Wisconsin defense, playing a delightful one-two off midfielder Edrey Caceres. Amond then slid the ball past Crockford, giving Marquette the 1-0 advantage.
Moments later, the Golden Eagles nearly doubled their lead when forward Abdoul Karim Pare juked past Nils Vallotto, but his curling strike went just wide of Crockford’s net. Marquette continued to pile on the pressure as Crockford parried a long-distance effort from Caceres.
After a slow start, UW fought back. A Birgir Baldvinsson corner bounced out to Tim Bielic, whose shot deflected over Målberg and into the top corner, evening the game at 1-1 in the 14th minute.
Marquette got their next big chance off a counterattack following a Badger corner. Amond played an over-the-top through ball toward Karim Pare, who found himself one-on-one with Crockford. Crockford, however, came up with a huge kick save to keep the score even.
Minutes later, another Marquette longball reached striker Brooklyn Merl on the edge of the Badgers’ box. Merl brought the ball down and fired a looping shot over the outstretched arms of Crockford and into the net, restoring Marquette’s lead in the 37th minute.
The score remained 2-1 into halftime, leaving the Badgers with an enormous task ahead of them if they wanted to avoid their second defeat of the season.
A slow start formulated for the Badgers in the second half, similar to the beginning of the match. Marquette forward Noah Madrigal cut the ball back to Caceres, whose shot deflected past a helpless Crockford into the net, giving Marquette a 3-1 lead just 28 seconds into the second frame.
Marquette gave the Badgers a golden opportunity in the 51st minute, as defender Jai Hsieh-Bailey powerfully slid after a loose ball, but caught Maxwell Keenan instead. The referee deemed this violent conduct, leading to an eventual red card handed to Bailey, putting the Golden Eagles a man down for the final 40 minutes of action.
On the ensuing free kick, Caceres deflected Baldvinsson’s cross back toward his own net, but Målberg just managed to tip the ball over the bar for a corner kick.
The Badgers thought they had their second goal a few minutes later when Thomas Raimbault tapped in a Ryan Keefe-headed pass. The linesman, however, judged Keefe to be offside, so the goal was ruled out.
Marquette continued to stifle Wisconsin’s attack for the remainder of the game, securing a 3-1 victory for the Golden Eagles.
The Badgers continue their season this Friday with their Big Ten opener on the road against Indiana University.
